In a first, a soft tissue synthetic retina has been developed by a researcher at Oxford University. Till now, only hard and rigid materials were used in artificial retinal research.

This research has been conducted by 24-year-old student researcher  Vanessa Restrepo-Schild at Oxford University. The researcher  has made use of synthetic tissues, biologically  developed in a laboratory environment.

The study is expected to transform the outlook of bionic implant industry as well as development of less invasive medical technologies.  The new synthetic  retina closely resembles the human body tissues and helps in  treating degenerative eye diseases  like retinitis pigmentosa.

Under the leadership of Restrepo-Schild,  the team  developed a new synthetic, double layered retina. It  closely mimics the natural human retinal process. The synthetic retina replica has soft water droplets called hydrogels in it. It also  has biological cell membrane proteins. The retina is designed like a camera. Its cells act like pixels. These detect and react to light for creating a grey scale image.

Restrepo-Schild  informed that, “The human eye is incredibly sensitive, which is why foreign bodies like metal retinal implants can be so damaging, leading to inflammation and/or scaring. But a biological synthetic implant is soft and water based, so much more friendly to the eye environment,” as reported by the media.

Restrepo-Schild has applied for a patent for the new technology.  Her team is looking  ahead for the research to expand to include animal testing. Later, a series of clinical trials in humans will be on cards.